Objective: To determine the prevalence of, and identify associated factors with, overweight and obesity in two samples of French children. Design: We conducted two cross-sectional studies among two samples of children. Weight status, eating behaviour, sedentary activity, physical activity and parents' socio-economic status (SES) were collected using questionnaires filled by doctors during school health check-ups. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the age-and sex-specific BMI cut-off points of the International Obesity Taskforce. Multivariate analysis (logistic regression) was used to identify independent factors associated with overweight including obesity and obesity alone. Setting: Aquitaine region (south-west France). Subjects: Analyses were conducted among children aged 5-7 years (n 4048) and 7-11 years (n 3619). Results: Overweight prevalence was 9?5 % including 2?2 % of obesity in 5-7-yearold children and 15?6 % including 2?9 % of obesity in 7-11-year-old children. In both samples, overweight and obesity prevalence were higher in children whose parents had low or medium SES (P , 0?05). Factors associated significantly (P , 0?05) and independently with higher overweight or obesity prevalence were female gender, low or medium parental SES, never or sometimes having breakfast, never eating at the school canteen, never having a morning snack, never or sometimes having a light afternoon meal and having high sedentary activity. Conclusions: Our data confirm that low SES, absence of breakfast and high sedentary activity are associated with a higher risk of being overweight or obese, but also highlight original potential protective factors such as eating at the canteen and high meal frequency.

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Overweight prevalence has decreased between 2004 and 2011 in 5-6-year-old children from Bordeaux. However, the gap between low and non-low-SES areas has persisted during these years.

Objective: The objective of the present study was to describe changes in overweight and obesity prevalence and eating habits among 7·5-10·5-year-old children in Aquitaine ( Results:After adjustment of the model for age, residential area and socio-economic status of the area of residence, the prevalence of overweight including obesity (OR = 1·05; 95 % CI 0·89, 1·23, P = 0·56) and of obesity (OR = 0·99; 95 % CI 0·71, 1·39, P = 0·96) was found to have stabilized and eating habits had improved: intake of light afternoon meals had increased (OR = 1·38; 95 % CI 1·13, 1·69, P = 0·002) while snacking in the morning (OR = 0·50; 95 % CI 0·45, 0·57, P < 0·001) and nibbling (OR = 0·81; 95 % CI 0·70, 0·93, P < 0·001) had decreased. Conclusions: These results encourage the promotion and implementation of regional and national interventions among children regarding their eating habits in order to stabilize or decrease the prevalence of overweight.

This study aimed to identify dietary behaviors that might be considered as associated factors for overweight or obesity among French adolescents. Forty-nine of the 536 middle and high schools in Aquitaine (southwest of France) were invited to take part in the study. For each school, participating adolescents were selected using stratification by grade. A self-report questionnaire, including information about sex, age, dietary behaviors, physical and sedentary activities, and parental socioeconomic status (SES), was filled in by adolescents during class. Overweight and obesity were defined according to the age- and sex-specific body mass index cutoff points of the International Obesity Task Force. Multivariate analysis (logistic regression) was used to identify independent dietary factors associated with overweight including obesity and obesity alone (adjustment on sex, age, parental SES, and weight status and adolescents' sedentary activity). In addition to parental SES and weight status and adolescents' sedentary activity, some dietary behaviors are also independently and significantly associated with a higher prevalence of overweight including obesity: absence (OR 1.43, 0.91-2.23) or rare (OR 1.57, 1.23-2.01) breakfast intake (p < 0.01) and absence (OR 5.03, 3.19-7.92) or rare (OR 1.90, 1.46-2.47) light afternoon meal intake (p < 0.001). All variables were also significantly and independently associated with obesity alone. This study shows that socioeconomic factors and individual behaviors are associated with overweight or obesity. These results confirm the importance to carry out multifaceted educational actions among adolescents, by promoting physical activity and healthy food choices in order to prevent overweight and promote healthy lifestyle behaviors.

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Le projet « Amélioration de l’offre alimentaire (hors restauration scolaire) et accompagnement pédagogique» a été mis en place en 2007–2008 et 2008–2009 dans 26 établissements du second degré d’Aquitaine. Il avait pour but de favoriser la consommation de fruits et pain chez les adolescents et de limiter la disponibilité des produits gras et sucrés au foyer des élèves. L’évaluation sociologique de ce projet a montré que l’adhésion des élèves dépendait fortement de la cohérence et des modalités de mise en place. Ainsi, l’adhésion des élèves, voire le changement de leurs habitudes alimentaires, est favorisé par la justification du changement d’offre via des actions d’éducation à la santé ludiques impliquant les élèves, l’intégration du projet dans une dynamique globale d’établissement (implication des équipes éducative, médicale et de restauration scolaire) et la prise en compte des préoccupations des adolescents (éloignées des aspects santé de l’alimentation).

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